Abstinence Education Under Welfare Reform: Appendix A

Abstinence Education Under Welfare Reform

Appendix A

Cash welfare block grant

Creates a $100 billion cash welfare block grant for states to use to "prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies," among other purposes.
Requires state plans to establish goals and take action to prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies, with special attention on teenage pregnancies, and establish numerical goals for reducing the illegitimacy ration of the state for calendar years 1996 through 2005.

Added grants for reducing out-of-wedlock births

Provides added grants of up to $25 million annually for states that are most successful in reducing the number of out-of-wedlock births while reducing the rate of abortions.
States that are successful in reducing illegitimacy and strengthening families are eligible for a share of a new $1 billion "performance bonus" fund.

Family cap

Allows any state to establish a family cap policy ending the practice of increasing federal cash welfare benefits when mothers on welfare have babies (the former provision setting a national cap from which states could "opt-out" was deleted by the Byrd rule).

Combating teen pregnancy

Allows states flexibility on limiting cash welfare for unmarried teens.
Requires teens to be in school and living at home with an adult to receive assistance.
Allows states to use block grant funds to provide, or assist in locating, adult-supervised living arrangements, such as second-chance homes for teen mothers.

Added funds for abstinence education

Provides $50 million in directly appropriated funding for each of fiscal years 1998 through 2002 for abstinence education.

Encouraging paternity establishment

Requires states to reduce cash welfare payments by at least 25 percent for families that include a parent who fails to cooperate in establishing paternity or obtaining child support.

National goals to prevent teen pregnancy

Requires the secretary of HHS within 1 year to implement a strategy for preventing teen pregnancies, ensuring that 25% of communities have prevention programs.

Annual ranking of states and review regarding out-of-wedlock births

Requires the secretary of Health and Human Services to rank annually all states according to out-of-wedlock birth ratios and changes in ratios over time and to review the five highest and five lowest ranking states.

Congressional findings

Includes a section of findings on the crisis that out-of-wedlock births pose for children, families, and the nation; states that an effective strategy to combat teen pregnancy must address the issue of male responsibility, including statutory rape culpability, and prevention.